Editorial: State must do its part to make pension fix work

Whether you like the process that was used or not, the Illinois General Assembly made landmark, sweeping changes to state and some local pension systems on Wednesday.

Second of two parts

Whether you like the process that was used or not, the Illinois General Assembly made landmark, sweeping changes to state and some local pension systems on Wednesday.

These modifications will save the state more than $100 billion if future legislatures act responsibly and don’t short the pensions as their predecessors have done.

That is a very big “if.” Reckless legislators and governors are the true cause of Illinois’ pension crisis, not too-generous benefits for rank-and-file employees and teachers.

Gov. Pat Quinn and legislators were practically breaking their arms patting themselves on the back Thursday after taking such a bold vote. But their work on pensions is not done until they ensure that they and their successors actually pay the bills. If they don’t, Illinois will have a pension Groundhog Day, with the same problems popping up every few decades.

Surprisingly, the legislation, Senate Bill 1946, largely mirrored the ideas in a bill put forward by Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont. It’s the first time in recent memory that the Democratic majority has embraced a Republican solution to a major problem. It was heartening that, for once, the two bickering parties can get along enough to pass real change.

But they left out one part. In its first paragraph, Radogno’s legislation, Senate Bill 2825, had a hammer to ensure the legislature makes the pension payments required by statute. If Radogno’s bill passed — creating a second class of pensions for new hires — but the legislature did not make a full payment, pension benefits apparently would revert back to their current state.

“There would be no option. You would have to fund it,” said Radogno’s spokeswoman, Patty Schuh. “It would be pure chaos. It was a way we could see to lock in full funding.”

We don't know whether that’s the best method to ensure full funding or whether something simpler, such as requiring a two-thirds supermajority to deviate from the payment requirement, would work better. But given their past behavior, this is one instance in which legislators need to put themselves and their successors in a straitjacket so those payments are made in full and on time.

That’s why there are few problems in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Under state law, local governments have to pay the IMRF, or it simply takes the cash right out of the deadbeat government’s coffers.

Legislators should pass and Quinn should insist upon follow-up legislation to ensure that future legislatures and governors cannot again easily sink Illinois into a fiscal abyss.